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METRO VANCOUVER — Newly signed Vancouver Whitecaps striker Tom Heinemann seems like a pretty decent, standup guy — polite, graduate of a small Jesuit university in Kansas City and anxious for a fresh start after missing nearly all of last season following microfracture knee surgery.

“I just try to come and bring a good attitude every day, try to work hard, do the things that I know I’m capable of and leave the rest up to the Lord,” he said following a morning training camp session this week.

Well, apparently first impressions can be deceiving. And Heinemann may not be such a polite, turn-the-other cheek Christian on the field.

“I think he plays a little bit like Stephen Lenhart does for San Jose,” said Caps head coach Martin Rennie, who had the 25-year-old Heinemann in Carolina in 2009. “Obviously, he’s not Stephen Lenhart, but if he gets himself healthy and fit, I think he could be a really good MLS player.”

Lenhart, who scored 10 goals in 26 matches for the Earthquakes last season, is generally regarded as the most hated man in MLS, a smirking, shaggy-haired menace who is particularly adept at getting under the skin of opposing players.

Heinemann can at least match Lenhart in the mane department, although his bountiful mop of curly locks are black, while Lenhart sports a tumbledown blond look.

After missing his freshman season at Rockhurst University in 2006 to a knee injury, the 6-4 Heinemann was an NCAA Division II all-American as a sophomore and junior and scored 35 times in 36 USL Premier Development League games over three seasons with the St. Louis Lions.

He actually made his pro debut at Burnaby’s Swangard Stadium in 2009 with the USL First Division Charleston Battery when they visited Vancouver. He split 2010 between Charleston and Carolina, then joined the MLS Columbus Crew in 2011, scoring three goals that season, but also missing some time with a hamstring injury.

Last season, he played five minutes off the bench in a league game on March 10, but a week later, in an exhibition contest against the University of West Virginia, he tore cartilage at the end of the femur connecting to his right knee. In mid-April, doctors drilled holes in the bone, allowing the marrow that seeps out to become like new cartilage.

“When I first heard that, I wasn’t too keen on it, but I’m a firm believer that everything happens for a reason, so I’m just focusing on getting healthy and getting my muscles strong.”

The rehab timeline was nine to 12 months, so he’s not in soccer game shape right now.

“I’m getting there, it’s starting to feel good. Right now, it’s just fun to be back out here training and interacting with the guys. You miss that camaraderie. When you’re injured, you feel like you’re on the outside, so it’s good to be back in the environment, one that breeds competition. It brings out a lot in a lot of people.”

With the Whitecaps missing out on big, Kelowna-born forward Rob Friend, who elected this week to stay in Germany, Heinemann is the only striker in camp taller than six feet. Rennie has been keen to add a target man up front who can mix well with some of the Caps’ speedier forwards.

“He’s got that height and that aggression,” says Rennie. “He’s a little bit different to other strikers that we’ve got. And just his enthusiasm and the kind of personality that he has, it’s important to have people like that in your group.”

Heinemann had opportunities to sign elsewhere in MLS when Columbus let him go. But the chance to reconnect with Rennie and to come to a “special club” like the Whitecaps convinced him Vancouver was the best option.

“The environment and the culture that (Rennie) tries to set for the club and the team, it’s one that I was very interested in being a part of. We have a great team, a great squad here. I think we can do some damage this year.”

Heinemann said he was impressed the first day of training camp with the pace shown by some of the Whitecaps forwards and midfielders such as Darren Mattocks and first-round draft picks Kekuta Manneh and Erik Hurtado.“That’s an element that’s fun to play with and link up with. Speed can create a lot of opportunities.”

Heinemann says he can be a target guy up front, holding up the ball on attack. But he says he’s capable of playing an all-around game, distributing and getting involved inside the box.

“I like scoring goals. That’s why I play the game. Hopefully, I can bring that to the table.”

BONJOUR AU REVOIR: The Whitecaps have released centre back Martin Bonjour. The 27-year-old Argentinian scored once in 28 games for Vancouver last season, but lost his starting job when the ’Caps brought in veteran Andy O’Brien ... the Whitecaps move training camp to Casa Grande, Ariz., next week with a first pre-season match set for Tuesday against the New England Revolution.

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